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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362247">The Lines We Can't Define</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkhye/pseuds/milkhye'>milkhye</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>TXT (Korea Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 10:20:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,097</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkhye/pseuds/milkhye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yeonjun has always been too much of a gentleman to properly turn down a confession. That’s where Soobin comes in.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>121</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Lines We Can't Define</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The grip on Yeonjun’s hand is almost bone-crushing.</p><p>Among all of the experiences in his life, he thinks to himself that there was nothing more painful than the death-inducing grip of a girl on a mission for love.</p><p>Behind her mascara stained cheeks and reddening nose, there’s a sense of fierceness within her eyes, and part of him wants to commend her for it, while the other part of him wants to run.</p><p>But mostly he wants to run.</p><p>Squinting his eyes slightly, he recognises the girl to be the cute junior his friend had been eyeing the other day. Long brown hair parted into two braids and cherry pink lips- she really was cute.</p><p>His stomach grumbles loudly.</p><p>He was going to miss out on lunch.</p><p>“Please…please accept my letter!” the girl cries, startling him out of his thoughts. </p><p>Looking down at her and her trembling grip, he winces slightly, putting a hand over her own. </p><p>Although he feels pity for her- knows how much courage it takes to voice her feelings out loud, all Yeonjun can really concentrate on is his building nausea as the girl paints a tear-streaked confession into his chest, voice rising and fists abandoning his own to bury into his shirt. </p><p>He knows how he’s supposed to respond- how he’s expected to respond, but that doesn’t stop the discomfort growing within him, as a number of heads in the corridor turn to look.</p><p>It’s only experience from countless confessions before that stops him from choking on it.</p><p>“I’m…I’m sorry, Yoojung-ssi. You’re a lovely girl, really. I just don’t have time to date right now,” he says, biting his lip.</p><p>It’s the unexpected sincerity in his voice that makes her look up for a second, startled.</p><p>It was true- Yeonjun really was busy. In between juggling schoolwork, training and participating in a number of clubs, he was also expected to upkeep his social life to keep his parents off his back. </p><p>He didn’t know why he tried so hard, but he always wanted to do his best- he was a good boy.</p><p>Not so much a good boyfriend.</p><p>He looks back at the teary girl in front of him, and thinks in dismay that he doesn’t want her to cry. He almost reaches out a hand to wipe her tears away, but pulls back.</p><p>No- he couldn’t encourage her.</p><p>He never enjoyed rejecting confessions- it was always awful and upsetting, but at the same time, he couldn’t bear the idea of agreeing to enter a relationship just to appease the other. Confessions were one thing- a bad relationship was something that left a mark on the soul. </p><p>“You wouldn’t know if you’d be too busy if you don’t try,” the girl in front of him cries again as a desperate last attempt, stamping her foot against the ground.</p><p>“Listen,” he says softly, taking her hand into his. She looks up at him, startled, before looking back down at their hands.</p><p>“You’re a great girl and I appreciate your confession a lot. But if I tried to balance everything at once, I’m afraid I would make a terrible boyfriend, and you deserve better than that,” he shakes his head, looking down at the floor, then back up into her eyes. </p><p>He tries to paste on the most regretful expression that he can, eyes soft, but he reacts in horror when she begins to tear up, quickly waving his hands about.</p><p>“No, no, don’t cry! Yoojung-ah, don’t cry,” he says, frantically looking about. Almost every pair of eyes in the hallway were trained on them now.</p><p><i>Please let this end soon,</i> he prays internally, not wanting to be caught up in another whirlwind of rumours. Even with so much experience under his belt, he still could never get used to the judgemental stares of his classmates and the crushing pressure of having to placate someone that he didn’t even know existed until five minutes ago.</p><p>Hand patting against her back, he leans down to look at her properly, eyebrows upturned in concern.</p><p>“No, it’s just…you’re so kind…I’ve fallen for you all over again,” the girl sniffs loudly, and his mouth almost drops open at the words, stepping back as if burned. </p><p>That was the opposite of what he wanted.</p><p>Letting out a deep breath, Yeonjun steels himself.</p><p>If he could just get one firm sentence out, this would all be over.</p><p>“I’m sorry- you’re a lovely girl, but I’m just not the right one for you,” he says softly, before giving her a small bow.</p><p>“But thank you for your confession. It made me very happy,” he smiles, turning back around to leave. </p><p>She doesn’t curse him as he does, so he counts it as a successful encounter.</p><p>He gets twice as many confessions the following day. </p><p>When he finally sits down at his desk at lunch after rejecting all of them one by one, he’s in a touchy mood.</p><p>“I always tell you not to be so much of a gentleman,” Beomgyu snorts as the elder slumps down onto the table with a groan, throwing a potato chip at his head. </p><p>“Stop being so mean! I was just trying to give those girls a proper reply,” Yeonjun grumbles, shaking his head to rid it of chip stains.</p><p>“Always so cool, Yeonjun oppa,” Soobin says, clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes excessively.</p><p>“Stop it, it’s a real problem!” Yeonjun replies with a flush, pushing the younger boy away.</p><p>“But seriously, you should be happy you’re getting so many confessions. I’ve gotten none this year,” Soobin grumbles with a pout.</p><p>“Or ever,” Taehyun says under his breath, making Yeonjun laugh loudly.</p><p>“Hey, one day I’ll make you guys regret that! I’m a growing boy,” Soobin responds, puffing his chest up. </p><p>“You know, to fix your problem, why don’t you just tell them you’re already dating someone?” Beomgyu asks casually. Yeonjun almost chokes.</p><p>“What?” he asks with a croak, staring wide eyed back at his friend.</p><p>“You know, like pretend to go out with someone so that you won’t be bothered anymore,” the blonde replies with a shrug, and Yeonjun pauses.</p><p>Deliberates.</p><p>Then turns back to his friend. It’s not a bad idea.</p><p>“You really think that’d work?” Yeonjun asks curiously, leaning over the table. </p><p>“Well, yeah. Once everyone knows you’re taken, they won’t be able to confess to you,” Beomgyu blinks, before setting his chips down.</p><p>Yeonjun startles. </p><p>How had he not thought of that before?</p><p>“Hey, you’re right…yeah! That’s a great idea!” the elder responds, excited. He almost feels as if a heavy weight has been lifted off his shoulders, before he slumps dejectedly back down into his seat.</p><p>“Who could I ask to do something like that with me though?” there’s a silence, as he puts forth the question. </p><p>He knew it- it was impossible. </p><p>There was no way that he was going to find someone to agree to the scheme- and if he did, there was no way to guarantee that they wouldn’t hold it against him so that they could date him in real life. </p><p>He had definitely gotten quite a few of those threats before- so that crossed out nearly half of the student population. </p><p>He would need someone close to him- someone that he could trust. </p><p>He tries to think of all of his close female friends, but more than anything, he can’t help but worry for their reputations and safety. </p><p>Judging by his past relationships, there was no way of telling how his potential ‘girlfriend’ would be treated by the other girls from school. He didn’t want any of them to be targeted because of reasons of jealousy, or to be looked down upon by the other girls. </p><p>So where did that leave him?</p><p>“Hyung…are you listening? Hyung!” when he’s finally snapped out of his reverie, he notices with surprise that the classroom is suddenly empty. </p><p>He looks up next to him at the direction of the voice, and finds himself directly next to Soobin. Startled, he moves back, and almost falls off his seat.</p><p>“Geez, you’ve been out of it for so long- I didn’t know whether to leave you behind or not. Everyone else already left for class,” says the taller boy, before holding out a drink and pressing it into Yeonjun's chest.</p><p>“What?” the elder asks dumbly, catching the drink. He notes numbly that their fingers briefly touch.</p><p>“They went to class? And we have a free period? Are you okay?” Soobin raises his eyebrow, looking Yeonjun up and down. </p><p>“Oh, I uh- yeah, sorry. I was just thinking,” the elder replies, running a hand through his hair.</p><p>“Hey, don’t do that. You’re ruining your good looks,” the younger jokes, reaching forward to smooth down the stray hairs. Yeonjun doesn’t say anything as he fingers the strands.</p><p>“Sorry, I just…” he trails off, uncertain.</p><p>“Whatever you’re worrying about, you know you don’t have to deal with it alone, right?” Soobin interrupts, knocking his shoulder playfully against his own. </p><p>Yeonjun looks up at his friend, eyes hesitant, before crumbling entirely at the open and earnest expression on his friend’s face.</p><p>It was so easy being with Soobin.</p><p>“Thanks, but it’s alright. Unless you can be my boyfriend or something, I don’t think you can really help out,” he jokes, nudging the younger, before stopping still.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>He looks up.</p><p>Soobin seems to notice a shift in the atmosphere as well, because they’re suddenly staring at each other in silence, neither of them making a move.</p><p>Once he thought about it, the younger was actually quite good looking. It wasn’t that it never crossed Yeonjun's mind- rather, it wasn’t ever really something that he cared much about up until this point.</p><p>It was a wonder why he had never received a confession.</p><p>He decides to go straight for it.</p><p>“Soobin, you have to help me,” Yeonjun says seriously, grabbing his hand.</p><p>“Huh? What’s wrong?” Soobin asks, startled.</p><p>In the back of his mind, he notes the way that Soobin jumps at the contact, but puts it away for the sake of his pride.</p><p>He needs to do this.</p><p>“Please…please pretend to be my boyfriend,” he squeezes his eyes shut, bowing his head down.</p><p>There’s a silence.</p><p>When he finally looks up, all he can see is Soobin gaping back at him, eyes wide.</p><p>“Can you…say something?” Yeonjun asks, wincing, before rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>“Me?” Soobin asks, croaking, before looking around.</p><p>“No, the trashcan next to you,” Yeonjun huffs, standing up straight. The younger stares back, eyes bulging, before quickly standing up as well.</p><p>“Wait, why me?” he asks, incredulous.</p><p>Yeonjun takes a deep sigh, before responding.</p><p>“Because you’re the only one I can trust to help me. I can’t ask any of my female friends to cover for me, and you’re one of my closest friends, so I know that they won’t bother you if we say that we’re dating,” Yeonjun says, ears burning. He already regrets asking.</p><p>It was such a stupid proposition.</p><p>Soobin doesn’t say anything for a while, and Yeonjun can’t help but feel nervous, his heart racing.</p><p>There was no way the younger would break off their friendship because of this, right?</p><p>Right?</p><p>He chances another glance at the other, and is startled to see Soobin break into a begrudging smile.</p><p>“I mean…if it’ll really help you, I’ll do it. But only because you’re one of my best friends, alright? Not because I’m jealous of how many confessions you get or anything,” Soobin says haughtily, and Yeonjun can only laugh back.</p><p>He feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.</p><p>“You're the best, Bin,” he says, with a face-splitting smile, and tackles the other with a hug.</p><p>The younger's clearly taken off guard, but he hesitantly wraps an arm around him, cheeks dimpling.</p><p>It feels good.</p><p>“This’ll cut out all of my prospects of ever dating, though,” Soobin sighs, before getting nudged in the side by the elder.</p><p>“Hey, it’s not like you ever had a chance anyway,” Yeonjun teases.</p><p>Before Soobin can voice his indignation, the bell rings, and they both groan.</p><p>“Okay, we’ll talk more about this later, alright?” Soobin nods, before pulling on his backpack.</p><p>Looking up, Yeonjun gives the other a shit-eating grin.</p><p>“Sure thing, boyfriend,” he coos, making a kissy face at him, before leaving, laughing at the entirely affronted expression given in return to him.</p><p>This was going to be fun.</p><p>But more importantly, this was going to help a lot.</p>
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